Four Blue Devils Named All-Conference for Baseball on Thursday Night

May 19, 2011

On the eve of the 2011 Northeast Conference Baseball Tournament,
four Blue Devils were named All-Conference on Thursday night.
Central placed two on the First Team and two more on the Second
Team. The Blue Devils are the fourth seed in the NEC Tournament
which begins on Friday. Central plays top-seed Monmouth on Friday
at 12 p.m. at Dodd Stadium in Norwich.

Juniors Mitch
Wells and Jake
Matuszak were named to the All-Conference First Team. Senior
Pat Epps
and freshman J.P.
Sportman earned Second Team honors.

Wells is a First Team selection at third base for the second
straight season. He enters the NEC Tournament on a 15-game hitting
streak, the longest of the season for the Blue Devils, and tied for
the longest streak of his career. Wells led the Blue Devils in
hitting with a .377 average and also had team-highs in hits (72),
runs batted in (43), slugging percentage (.492), on-base percentage
(.445) and total bases (94). His .352 career batting average is
good for the top-10 all-time at CCSU, as are his 120 career runs,
198 hits and his 37 doubles.

Matuszak is a First Team selection in the outfield in his first
season with the Blue Devils. He batted .345, second on the team,
with 60 hits, 18 RBI and 36 runs scored. His on-base percentage of
.438 was second on the team. He enters the tournament having
reached base successfully in 13 straight games, nearing his
previous best of 16 straight which he set earlier in the
season.

Epps is an All-Conference selection for the fourth time in his
career. He was a Second Team pick as a freshman, First Team as a
sophomore and a junior, and now he is on the Second Team as a
senior. Epps hit .294 with 50 hits, 13 doubles, four home runs and
29 runs batted in this season. His career in New Britain has been
nothing short of spectacular. He is a .350 hitter in 200 career
games played. He is third all-time in hits (256), fourth in
doubles (46), first in home runs (29), second in RBI (175), fourth
in runs scored (167), second in total bases (401) and ninth in
slugging percentage (.548).

Epps becomes only the second Blue Devil in league history to be
named All-Conference in each of his four seasons. He joins Rob
Hosgood (2001-04), as the only Central player with four all-league
selection in baseball in his career.

Sportman earns Second Team honors as a freshman at the utility
position. He played both the outfield and shortstop on the
season. He hit .284 with 48 hits, 32 RBI and a pair of home runs
in his first season with the Blue Devils. In conference action he
hit .319. He led the Blue Devils with 16 two-out RBI on the year.
Earlier this season he had a string of 22 straight games having
reached base, that is a team best.

The Blue Devils, who are the defending NEC Championships, have won
four titles since 2002, the most of any team in the NEC. They hold
an all-time record of 22-14 in tournament play, but are just 4-4 as
the #4 seed. Central has won a title as the top seed, the second
seed and the third seed, but never as the fourth seed. They open
play on Friday at 12 p.m. at Dodd Stadium in Norwich.